Serious question, should we remove bookmarks or leave them in?

I found a 1953 train ticket from Grand Central Station in a copy of 'The Great Gatsby' I bought in St. Louis. A collector friend told me I should take it out and frame it separately to preserve it, but I feel like its story is tied to the book. I put it back in, but now I'm second-guessing. What's the right call when you find something really old?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameronn621mo ago

Diana's got it right... the story is everything. I found a grocery list from 1978 in a used copy of a John le Carre novel. The whole plot is about spies and secrets, and here's this person's shopping list for eggs and bread. Taking it out would have wrecked the magic. That ticket belongs with Gatsby now, their stories are tangled up together. Preserving the feeling is more important than keeping things in perfect, separate boxes.

hunt.nora1mo ago

Oh man, that grocery list story is perfect. I totally get it. I found a birthday card from 1965 stuck in a old poetry book at a yard sale. It felt like a little piece of that person's life was still in there, you know? Diana_black is spot on about the story being in them being together. Taking that stuff out just makes the book feel empty, like you stripped its history away. The weird little things left behind are what give a used book its soul.

diana_black1mo ago

What made you change your mind? I used to be on your collector friend's side, always taking stuff out to keep things separate and safe. Then I found a pressed flower in my grandma's old cookbook. Taking it out felt wrong, like I was breaking up the story. That ticket and that book have been together for 70 years. Their history is in them being together. I'd leave it right where it is.